What happened to the weekend!?

Here I am back at work on Monday. I don't recall getting any rest whatsoever on the weekend.

Jenna's twelfth birthday was Thursday (Happy Birthday, Jennabug!) which was followed on Friday by a sleep-over party. There were five 11 to 12 year-old girls along with Lynn an me. Let me tell you, these girls can seriously eat! It's a good thing the one other girl who was invited couldn't come, or we would not have had enough food. (I'm glad they're not all boys.)

The girls were all gone by about 9:30 Saturday morning (after yours truly cooked breakfast) and we were on to our next task...Wal-Mart..on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. We survived and returned home to prepare a dish to take to a get together for our Sunday School class.

Saturday night, we went to the Brannans' house for our SS Class party. We had a bonfire with barbecue and all the "fixins". We sat around the fire later, and roasted marshmallows and just talked and laughed. We had a great time, but we stayed too late.

Sunday, we went to church, the we left early to drive to Paris, or more accurately, Springville to my parents' house. We then got in their vehicle and rode to grandmother's house in Friendship, TN (Crockett County). Nearly all of my Mom's side of the family showed up there for a Thanksgiving/Birthday dinner. I guess the only ones not there were my cousin Rhonda and her husband; they live in the Gallatin/Hendersonville area, so it was a bit much for them to do in one day. Her daughter and grandaughter (8 months) were there and she was the life of the party. We left there and trekked back to Springville, rested for a bit and drove back to Charlotte. Lynn had to drive from Waverly on because I was just to sleepy. We got home at 10:45.

I thought there was supposed to be a day of rest somewhere during the weekend. Go figure.

Time Flies When You're Too Busy to Notice

I can't believe it has been a month since I posted anything here.  I have been much busier than I thought...definitely busier than a parole officer (sorry, Jeremy, had to do it).  The sad thing is, as I think back, I can't think of a single, individual thing that has kept me so busy.  I guess it has just been a lot of everything.  I really MUST have accomplished something during that time.  I hope I did.

I'm already making plans for the holidays; things have already been put on layaway at Wally World for Christmas.  Didn't school just start back last week?  Besides, it was eighty-freakin'-degrees outside yesterday!  What gives? 

I guess it's a sign of age. Why, I remember when Christmas took two years to get here...and I liked it!

Half-dozed ramblings

I'm sitting here watching TV and noticed that my eyes are glazing over.  At first I thought it was the subject matter, but I realized that it was because I'm sleep deprived.  

The Dickson County school system is currently experiencing a two week fall break.  The first week, my wife and daughter spent visiting my in-laws while I stayed home (somebody has to earn a living.)  I discovered that it is a good thing that I am married.  If not, i would be a work-a-holic.  I found myself staying at the office until 8:00 or 8:30 most nights and then staying up doing mostly nothing (i.e. flipping channels) at home until 2:00 am.  I still haven't caught up on sleep.

Hmm, Trisha Yearwood is on Leno and it appears that she has lost weight.  She has always been a beautiful regardless of her weight.

Access Hollywood is on now...I just don't get Lost.  I guess you "hadda be there."  Of course, when they first started billing it, I thought it was another "reality" show.  That was a major turn-off for me so I never watched it.

Well, that's all my foggy brain has for now.

I Swear to tell the truth...plus some other things for good measure

Okay, I've got some time now to really comment on my last post.  It wasn't intended to be a dis against the Roman Catholic Church which, as do most churches and religious organizations, has its problems.  It was more a commentary on today's society and where things are going in this politically correct world.

I fully understand that portions of the Bible were written as poetry and, in some cases, as allegory.  One can't say that the parables of Jesus were true historical stories; they were just stories to make a point.  However, these stories were prefaced as such prior to the telling.  Some books of the Bible are also prefaced this way as well.  Song of Songs (or Solomon) is a love poem that gives a word picture of the intimate relationship God desires with us.  Proverbs is a book of sayings and, well, proverbs or "rules of thumb," if you will.  This does not diminish its significance.  After all, they were written by the wisest man alive.

Most books of the Bible, the old testament especially, were written as historical documentation.  The book of Genesis was written as an historical telling of the history of the Hebrew people from the beginning of time to the death of Joseph.  It tells how they became God's chosen and how they came to be in Egypt prior to the time of Moses.  Now, I am sure that much of this was the writing down of many oral traditions, but I fully believe that Moses was guided in his writing by the Spirit of God.  Additionally, many ancient Egyptian artifacts point to the validity of the writing.

Additionally,  there has not been one historical fact in the Bible to be disproved.  Those throughout history who have attempted to do so have often done the opposite.

Many say, "What about the translations?  What about all the changes people are making?"

I say, "Prove it."

Now, The King James Version, that so many take as the only Bible, (I usually use the New International Version, myself) is a translation of  a translation.  Many say the translation was politically motivated.  Maybe so.  It was intended to break the growing rule of the papacy as a political entity.  But, with the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls and other manuscripts, we found that it was not that far off.  If anything, a verse or two got added by the Vulgate and, hence, the KJV, but nothing was really altered from the original meaning.  

The gospel is still the gospel.  The truth is still the truth.  And, if you can't believe the truth, there is nothing left to believe in.  So help me God.

Catholic Church no longer swears by truth of the Bible

The following is an excerpt from an article from The Times Online.  The complete article can be found at http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,13509-1811332,00.html:

THE hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church has published a teaching document instructing the faithful that some parts of the Bible are not actually true.

The Catholic bishops of England, Wales and Scotland are warning their five million worshippers, as well as any others drawn to the study of scripture, that they should not expect “total accuracy” from the Bible.

“We should not expect to find in Scripture full scientific accuracy or complete historical precision,” they say in The Gift of Scripture.

The document is timely, coming as it does amid the rise of the religious Right, in particular in the US. 

Okay, if some of the Bible is true and some is not, what parts do you want to believe today?  The Bible declares itself to be inerrant and infallible.  Was that a lie, too.  If the Bible cannot be trusted, what is the point of the Church?  Doesn't the Catholic Church negate its own purpose by embracing this drivel?  I guess that means that it really is okay for a priest to molest children.

I am certainly glad that the Creator provided me with enough intelligence and spiritual insight to make up my own mind and not have some group of politically correct, spiritually impotent priests and bishops tell me what to believe.

What do you think about this?